The Story

The speed of life combined with several evenings away from home caused our family to play Advent calendar catch-up last night.  The dark sky of the nativity seems a bit brighter now with the added stars.  Several sheep join a lone shepherd standing by one side of the stable door, and two wise men peer through the opening on the other.  A weary camel rests on his knees, and an angel floats mid-air, poised to blow a trumpet.  The scene is nice but not complete.  Someone who didn’t know the story would walk by and wonder why the space in the center is so empty and why such an awkward mix of celestial and mortal sorts are gathered at a barn.  Who could appear in such an unassuming spot that would cause the highest of heaven and the lowest of earth to show up in expectation and excitement?

If you know the answer, pause and praise God for His grace in your life because millions upon millions around the world have never heard His name.  They don’t know that shepherds hurried from the field to find the Savior in a manger.  They don’t know that His mother was a virgin, and that the baby boy was God on earth. They don’t know that the brightness of a guiding light showed some really smart guys where true Wisdom lies.  They don’t know that the infant was the Infinite, that His name is Jesus, and that the His crude cradle was the gateway to a bloodstained cross and empty tomb. They don’t know that the Word became a man and moved into the neighborhood and that because He came and lived and died and went and is coming again, those believe in Him “will never die but will have eternal life”(John 3:16).

This Christmas, let the Advent calendar on your wall or the Nativity set on your table be a call to praise and a call to prayer--praise for the One who let you hear the old, old story and prayer for those who have never heard.

Make sure the ones who don’t know aren’t ones that you know.

We’ve a story to tell to the nations—and the neighbors.